Alleged WhatsApp messages of Panama ex-president revealed

Alleged communications via WhatsApp of former President Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) with the Attorney General of the Nation, Kenya Porcell, and Comptroller Federico Humbert, among others in 2017 and 2018, were released last Tuesday, November 5, through a site called varelaleaks.com , whose authorship is unknown reports La Prensa and other media.

No further details of the origin of the device are specified.

The communications, according to the site, also include alleged messages between the former president and businessmen such as Pedro Heilbron, Stanley Motta and Taher Yaffar and Guillermo Liberman, among others; former deputies like Katleen Levy, and the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. Likewise, with the former ambassador of Panama in Korea and lobbyist of the Panamanian party, Jaime Lasso, with whom Varela allegedly communicates regarding an investigation by the Public Ministr of a donation from Odebrecht.

There are also excerpts from communications with María Mercedes de Corró, executive-vice-president of La Prensa and former ambassador of Panama in Spain, in which the former president complains about the content of some stories.

In the alleged messages exchanged between Varela and Porcell, there are references to the collaboration agreements between the Public Ministry and several State contractors investigated for money laundering.

There are also references to the extradition requested from the United States of Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, sons of former President Ricardo Martinelli.

So far, there has been no reaction of the issue by Varela or his relatives. The former president is currently at a trade show in Shanghai and recently posted a picture of himself at a dinner for heads of state hosted by Chinese President Xi